Rumor and Sigh

Rumor and Sigh was Thompson's thirteenth album since leaving Fairport Convention and his second for Capitol, again produced by Mitchell Froom. The American spelling of Rumor comes from a posthumously published poem by Archibald MacLeish. The lead single I Feel So Good reached number 15 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, and videos were made for it and for I Misunderstood. The album peaked at number 32 on the UK chart, his first top 40 record there, and it was nominated for the 1992 Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album, losing to R.E.M.'s Out of Time.

Several songs carry stories behind them. Grey Walls was inspired by Colney Hatch Mental Hospital in Barnet, which Thompson passed on the bus as a teenager. Mother Knows Best marked Margaret Thatcher's resignation. God Loves a Drunk, written by a teetotaller, suggests that alcoholism can be a path to spiritual ecstasy. The best-loved track, 1952 Vincent Black Lightning, was never a single.